Hello! I'm Willa Handy. I graduated from Concord in May 2016 with a BS in Chemistry. This is my first class in the MAT program and my concentration here is Chemistry 9-Adult. I remember having computers in my classrooms even as early as Pre-K, and I always enjoyed any chance to use Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint. My technology experience in the classroom ranges from basic tasks such as helping my partner teacher navigate Microsoft Office, to more advanced where I used ALEKS, Lexia, a Khan Academy online program, and an online introduction to coding with my 4th grade students. Because of this, I see the importance of integrating technology in the classroom. With all four of the programs I mentioned, my students were able to work at their own pace while also getting detailed explanations tailored to them.
Flipped Classroom Discussion:
Ideally, a flipped classroom with video lectures at home and practice work in the class would be great. I would love the extra class time for differentiating the lecture in small groups and giving more appropriately leveled practice problems, but for my current 5th graders, I see more disadvantages in a flipped classroom. I feel that my students are too young to be expected or required to find computer and internet access outside of school. With our current classroom, if my students don’t do their homework, they miss a chance to practice but with a flipped classroom, not doing their homework would leave them unable to practice in the classroom the following day due to not knowing the content. I feel that that would require me to do more individual differentiation than I do now with our whole- and small-group lessons. It’s also fairly easy for me to see who is struggling or getting off track during class, and I can always tweak my lessons for that, but with a flipped classroom, it wouldn’t be that easy. The best way I can see to flip my current classroom is to use it in our blended learning stations. Students who watched the videos at home would be able to skip the content video station and jump right into the practice work station. Skipping the video would give them an extra block of time for more practice or for a different activity while the students who did not watch their videos would be required to start in the content video station. That would encourage those who can do the work at home to do it but also avoid punishing those who could not do it at home.
Hello! I'm Willa Handy. I graduated from Concord in May 2016 with a BS in Chemistry. This is my first class in the MAT program and my concentration here is Chemistry 9-Adult. I remember having computers in my classrooms even as early as Pre-K, and I always enjoyed any chance to use Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint. My technology experience in the classroom ranges from basic tasks such as helping my partner teacher navigate Microsoft Office, to more advanced where I used ALEKS, Lexia, a Khan Academy online program, and an online introduction to coding with my 4th grade students. Because of this, I see the importance of integrating technology in the classroom. With all four of the programs I mentioned, my students were able to work at their own pace while also getting detailed explanations tailored to them.
Flipped Classroom Discussion:
Ideally, a flipped classroom with video lectures at home and practice work in the class would be great. I would love the extra class time for differentiating the lecture in small groups and giving more appropriately leveled practice problems, but for my current 5th graders, I see more disadvantages in a flipped classroom. I feel that my students are too young to be expected or required to find computer and internet access outside of school. With our current classroom, if my students don’t do their homework, they miss a chance to practice but with a flipped classroom, not doing their homework would leave them unable to practice in the classroom the following day due to not knowing the content. I feel that that would require me to do more individual differentiation than I do now with our whole- and small-group lessons. It’s also fairly easy for me to see who is struggling or getting off track during class, and I can always tweak my lessons for that, but with a flipped classroom, it wouldn’t be that easy. The best way I can see to flip my current classroom is to use it in our blended learning stations. Students who watched the videos at home would be able to skip the content video station and jump right into the practice work station. Skipping the video would give them an extra block of time for more practice or for a different activity while the students who did not watch their videos would be required to start in the content video station. That would encourage those who can do the work at home to do it but also avoid punishing those who could not do it at home.